Door-operating device



i April 8, 1930. E. KROHN ET AL 1,753,272

DOOR OPERATING. DEVICE Filed June 27, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 8',1930.

E. KROHN ET AL DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed June 27, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet2 l "mums T N H l Fw m wan mw ifllxi l in ll r April 8, 1930. E, KROHNET AL 1,753,272

DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed June 27. 1927' s Sheets-Sheet 5 1 if; 527-iZa \2 I 20 6/ 52 574 7 ZE i9 1 door.

Patented Apr. 8, 1930 D; STATES PATENT orFicE EMIL KROHN ANDVIGTOR A.IJILLQUIST, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNORS OF ONE- THIRD T0 AXEL W.BJORKLUND,' OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA DOOR-OPERATING nnvren Applicationfiled June 27, 1927. Serial No. 261,902.

This invention. relates to a door operating mechanism, and while theinvention is applicable .to many types of doors, it particularly isdesigned to operate such a door as mobile. When the driver returns'tothe garage, it'is often necessary for him to get out of. the automobileto open the garage door and. then to. again. enter the automobile to,

drive. the same. into the. garage.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a simple andeasily operated mechanism by which. the drivercan open the garage doorwithout getting entirely out of the automobile.

It. is another object of the invention to provide-such a devicecomprising an operating mechanism, preferably of the lever type,disposed some. distance in front of the garage, connected to. a dooroperating mechanism adjacent the garage door, which includes a flexibleon articulated member disposed in a guide member andwhich isconnected tothe: door.

It is also an objectv of the invention to pro vide: a door: operatingmechanism suchv as set forth in the preceding paragraph, together with alocking mechanism for thedoor which; is released by the movement of saidlever prior tov theopening movement ofthe Theseand; other objects andadvantages of the: invention will be. fully set forth, in the followingdescription" made in connection with theaccompanying' drawings, in whichlike reference characters refer to" similar parts throughout the severalviews and in Whichr- 1 3 Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical sectionthrough-- the building, showing the inner side of the doors with. themechanism applied thereto ;.said section being taken on'line1'-1 of Fig.2; i

. Fig. 21 is a horizontal section V of the build i gtakn.substantiallyonline s Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a partial horizontal section such as shown in Fig. 2 shown onan'enlarged scale, with certain parts broken away;

Fig. 5 is a partial view in plan of the flexible or articulated memberused; 7

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 66 of Fig. 5; v t

Fig. 7' is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified construction; t

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8'8 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a partial view similar to Fig. 7 showing a modified form ofconstruction;

Fig. 10 is avertical section on line 1010 of Fig. 11; and, V

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section taken on line 1111 of Fig. 10, saidfigures showing a modification, all of said sections being taken asindicated by the arrows. 7

Referring to the drawings, in Figs. 1 and 2 a building such as a garagebuilding is shown, comprising the vertical walls 10 having the roof 11,the front wall 10 and the oppositely swinging double doors 12 and 12 Thehinges for the doors are shown as 13.

The door 12 has'secured' thereto an inwardly extending bracket 14 towhich is pivoted a link 15, in turn pivotally connected at its other endto a lug or bracket 16'secured to the inner side of thedoor 12 Anotherbracket 17 is secured to the inner side'of door 12, one end of whichprojects into the channel or guideway of a guidemem'ber 18. The guidemember 18 is secured to the floor andprojects through the front wall 10of the building, having its outer end 18 projecting outward from saidwall substantially perpendicular thereto and having its inner end 18reversely curved as shownin Figs. 2 and 4 toward the free edge of thedoor 12 A flexible or articulatedlmember 19 is disposed within the V thesides of the channel or the inner walls of member 18. The end pivot pin19 of member 19 is extended to one side of the links 9" and extendsthrough the end of bracket i7, being secured thereto by a suitable nut.The member 19has connected to the pivot pin at the other end thereof ahub or boss of the rod 20 which extends through the end of member 18 andthrough a housing conduit .31. The housing conduit 21 is secured at itsother end to the wall of a rectangular casing 22 disposed some distanceat the outer side of the garage and at the front thereof. The asing 22has a hinged top 22 hinged along one longitudinal side thereof. Said lidmay be provided with a hasp 22 extending over a staple 22 and locked inclosed position by a lock 22. A shaft 23 extends across the casing 22having its ends journaled in .he side walls thereof, which shaft hassecured thereto an arm 24. The arm 24 has pivotally connected to itsouter end a link 25, the other end of which is pivotally conaected tothe rod 20. The arm 24 has a por- .ion 24 connected thereto throughwhich slidably extends a lever 26 carrying a stop pin 27. The casing 22has an aperture 22 in the bottom thereof adapted to receive the nd of alever 26, at certain times. The doors l2 and 12 overlap at their meetingpoint as shown at 12 A locking mechanism is provided for the door 12 andwhile this mechanism may be of various forms, in the e1nbodi- *nent ofthe invention illustrated it is shown .is comprising a bolt 28 slidablein a casing 29 and urged by a spring (not shown) into engagement with akeeper 30 disposed above the doors. The bolt 28 is of the type having aninclined edge which will spring into engragement with the keeper 30 whenthe door is closed. The bolt 28 has an eyeletat one end to which isconnected a flexible cord or cable 31 running over a pulley 32 mountedon he inner side of the door 12 and also over a pulley 32 mounted in abracket 33 secured to the door post 10'. The cord 31 passes 7 from thepulley 32 over another pulley 34 mounted in a bracket 35 secured to thewall 'lO-and said cord 31 extends downward from pulley 34 and runs overanother pulley 36 mounted in a bracket 37 also secured to the wall 10,said cord passing from pulley 36 into a tube 38 extending through thefront wall 10*, which tube connects at its outer end to the end of themember 18, the cord 31 passing through the end of member 18 and throughthe conduit 21. The cord 31 passes through the other end of conduit 21over a pulley 38 mounted in a bracket 39 secured to the end wall of thecasing 22 and thus over a pulley 40 mounted in a bracket 41 also securedto the end wall of casing 22. From pulley 40 the cord 31 extends to andis connected to an apertured' lug 26 adjacent the end of lever 26. i

In operation, when the doors 12 or 12 are closed, they will be in theposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the driver wishes to open thedoors and drive the automobile into the garage, he will drive the car upto the front of the garage so that the same is close alongside of thecasing 22. The casing 22 is of a height to come somewhat above therunning board of the automobile. The driver can reach down and open thelid of the casing and swing lever 26 upwardly. The lever is first pulledthrough the member 24 until the pin 27 engages the same and is thenswung to vertical position. When in this position, the lever can bepushed downwardly into the opening 22 so that it will be held invertical position. lVhen the lever 26 is pulled lengthwise, it pullsupon the cord 21. This cord 'movlng over the various pulleys, pullsclownwardly on the bolt 28, thus unlocking the doors. When the lever 26is swung upwardly, arm 24 is swung and through the link 25 pushes therod 20 lengthwise into the conduit 21. This pushes the member 19 throughthe guide member 18, the same being guided by the rollers 19. Thiscauses a movement'of bracket 17 outwardly, thus swinging the door 12open into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This movement ofdoor 12 through the link 15 in bracket 14 also swings open the door 12so that the doors take the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Thedoors being so open the driver can now drive into the garage. The lever26 can be operated by the driver without entirely getting out of the carand it is not necessary for him to walk to the garage and open thedoors. After the car is in the garage, the driver leaves the same asusual and he can then shut the doors by an opposite movement of thelever 26 moving the same to the position shown in Fig. 3. As the door isclosed, the bolt 28 will engage the keeper 30 and the doors will belocked in closed position. The lid 22 may then be closed and the lock 22applied so that the door cannot be opened by unauthorized parties.

In the structure shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the link25 which is connectedat one end to the rod 20 is pivotally connected at its other end to theend of a segmental gear arm 45 secured to a shaft 46 journaled in thewalls of the casing 22. The segmental gear arm 45 has its gear portionmeshing with a gear 47 mounted on a shaft 48 also extending between andjournaled'in the walls of the casing 22, which gear 47 has a portion 47a through which slidably extends a lever 49 having a stop pin 50adjacent-its lower end to which lever is connected adjacent its otherend the cord 31 already described.

The operation of the structure shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is substantiallythe same as that already described. The operator will lift the 11d 22"and move the lever 49 longitudinally,

thus pullingon thecord 31 and releasing the locking means 28. The lever49 will thusbe swung to vertical position as indicated in dottedlines inFig. 7 and its endengaged" in the opening 22?. This swinging movement ofthe lever willturn. gear 47, which in turn will oscillate the arm 45 andmove link 25 towardthe rod20. This rod will, as already described,operate the member 19 and bracket l7'to open the doors. The doors willbe closed by an opposite movement of the lever 49;

InFig. 9 the cable 31; is illustrated as connectedto-an eyelet 51secured in the lid 22*. In this structure the operating lever for therod 20 need not be arranged to be moved longitudinally, but will simplybe swung to push or pull on the rod 20. As the operator raises the lid22*, the cable 31 will be pulled upon and the lock 28 released. If thedriver desired, he could simply swing the lever 26 or 49 to open thedoors and need not place the lid in the recess 22 to hold the same invertical position. The lever can be left in position so that the lid 22can be closed and locked. After entering the garage, the operator couldthen close the doors by hand and this movement would move the lever 26or 49 to its position shown in full lines in Figs. 3 and 7 respectively.Such a method would be preferable where there was an exit from thegarage other than the doors, as when the garage is in a basement and thedriver would wish to go from the garage or basement to the upper floorswithout going out through the doors.

In Figs. 10 and 11 another modified form of operating means is shown forthe device. In said figures the casing 52 is shown having a base portion52 and an upstanding conical column 52 The base portion 52 has lugs 52projecting therefrom adapted to receive securing bolts 53 which willsecure the device to a suitable supporting surface 54. The column 52 hasa semi-spherical or bowlshaped portion 52 at its upper end to which ishinged a semi-spherical cover 52, said portions 52 and 52 formingsubstantially a ball. Said portions have co-operating lugs receiving thehinge pin 55, and have co-operating lugs at the other side adapted toreceive a barrel 56 of a tumbler lock, whereby the portions 52 and 52may be locked together or in closed position. The base portion 52 alsohas at one end a projecting boss 52 illustrated as threaded to receivethe end of a conduit 21 already described, said conduit receiving therod 20, the end of which projects intomember 52. Said rod is connectedto a bar 57 having regularly s aced holes 57 extending therethrough. T emember 52 has a bar 52 extending thereacross at its bottom, havingprojecting lugs in which are secured short shafts 58 having journaledthereon rollers 59 against which one side of bar 57 bears. A shaft 60 isprovided, we

tending centrally of column 52", saidzshaft- 57. The shaft 60 hassecured at'its upper enda member 62 having lugs inwhich acpivot pin 63is secured, forming the pivot of crank handle 64 adapted'tobe swung'intothe position shown in full lines in said figure, or when top 52".isopened, in the position shown in'dotted lines. I

. In operation the memberv 52 will be disposed a' suitable distance infront of the garage door and will be about three feet. six inches high,sothat the same can beconveniently operated by the driver of acarwithout leaving the car. The driver willdrive. along. side the member52 and will unlock 56 and open the cover 52. He will. then swing crank64 to the dotted line position and will rotate the same. This willrotate shaft 60 and pinion'61 and move bar 57 longitudinally, thuspushing on rod 20 and opening the doors as already described. WVhen, thedevice is closed and locked,'the crank 64 is disposed as shown in. fulllines in Fig. 10. When the; member 52 is used, the cable 31 will beattachedv to the lid 52 and will open the lock as describedin connectionwith Fig. 9. I

From the above descripiton it is seen that applicants have provided anextremely simple and easily operated device by means of whichthe doorsof a garage or other building may be opened at some distance therefromand without the driver of anautomobile getting out of the car andwalking to the doors. The device forms a. very convenient means foroperating the doors, especially in rainy or stormy weather. The parts ofthe device are quite few and simple and can be easily and inexpensivelymade and installed.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement andv proportions of the parts, withoutdeparting from the scope of axis of said lastmentiqned door and havingits innerend curved towardthe free endof said d'oorsavhenin closedposition, said guicle member" having aguide channel therein, a

flexible member comprising freely revolublespaced rollers connectedtogether by freely swinging links extending through said guide channel,a bracket secured to said last mentioned door having an end thereofextending into said guide channel and secured to one end of saidflexible member, and manually operated means disposed at some distancefrom said door at the outer side thereof connected to said flexiblemeans for pulling and pushing upon the same for closing and opening saiddoors respectively.

2. A door operating mechanism comprising a casing, an oscillating shaftin said casing, a rod extending into said casing, adapted to be pulledor pushed upon to close or open said door, a flexible member extendinginto said casing adapted to be pulled upon to unlock said door,a'swinging arm in said casing to which said rod is connected, a handlever for swinging said arm, said lever being also longitudinallymovable, and a recess in said casing into which the end of said levermay be moved to hold the same in position after being longitudinallymoved and swung to open said door.

3. The combination with the wall of a building and a swinging doordisposed sub stantially in the plane of said door when in closedposition, a guide member extending through said wall at one side of thepintle axis of said door, said guide member being curved to have itsinner end directed toward the free edge of said door, a bracket securedto said door and having one end extending into said guide member, achain comprising links and rollers journaled therein disposed in said.guide member and connected at its inner end to said bracket, a rodconnected to the other end of said chain and extending some distance tothe front of said door at the outer side thereof, and means forreciprocating said rod to open and close said door.

4. A door operating mechanism comprising a casing, a shaft mounted forturning movement in said casing, a rod extending into said casingadapted to be pulled or pushed upon to open or close said door, meansfor guiding said rod for longitudinal move ment in said casing, a leverin said casing comprising a pivoted handle portion operatively connectedto said shaft for turning the same, a cover for said casing, said leverbeing adapted to be disposed in one position with the cover closed, andto projectfrom said casing in operative position when the cover is swungto open position.

5. A door operating device having in combination with a swinging door, abracket secured to said door, a guide member disposed adjacent the axisabout which the door swings and extending from the inner to the outerside of said door, a flexible member disposed in said guide member, apush and pull rod connected to said flexible member and extending somedistance from the door at the outer side tures.

EMIL KROHN. VICTOR A. LILLQUIST.

